WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The (RV) Tigers took on day two of the Vipers Sports Academy Volleyball Classic hosted by Keiser University on Saturday morning. After two battles, the Tigers were swept by the (RV) Siena Heights Saints and then dropped a five-set thriller to the Mobile Rams.
GAME ONE: Campbellsville 0, Siena Heights 3
On day one of the Vipers Sports Academy Volleyball Classic, the Saints ended the day with two victories against Life and Rust. Despite Campbellsville's losses against Keiser and Missouri Baptist on Friday, the Tigers started with a kill from Camryn Rich, quickly taking control of the scoreboard. With an even exchange of kills from both teams, Campbellsville took the lead. After trailing the Tigers 16-12, the Saints quickly responded with six points, while the Tigers kept going strong, adding three points to their favor. The first set ended with the Tigers trailing the Saints, 25-20.
The Tigers scored the first point of the second frame with a kill from Brooke Hager. As both teams continued to connect, they retaliated quickly, continuously tying the scoreboard. After going 6-6, Siena Heights took control of the score, widening their lead against Campbellsville. However, the Tigers were quick to come back and respond with four points in a row. For the remainder of the set, both teams kept the score within two points of one another. After an arduous fight from the Tigers, the Saints won the second set 25-18.
The third set starts with a kill and a service ace from the Saints, the Tigers trailing Siena Heights two to nothing. With kills from Zofia Serafinowska and Beyza Bektasoglu, the Tigers pulled their act together and tied the scoreboard. However, the Saints swiftly took back control over the match and left the Tigers trailing for the remainder of the match. Campbellsville's efforts were not enough to retaliate against Siena Heights, losing the set 25-15.
Campbellsville finished their first match of the day with a hitting percentage of .087, five aces, and four blocks, compared to Siena Heights' .297 hitting percentage, ten aces, and seven blocks. Bektazoglu led the team with seven kills, and Rich with eight digs and 23 assists.
GAME TWO: Campbellsville 2, Mobile 3
After day one of the Vipers Sports Academy Volleyball Classic, the Rams lost two against Ave Maria and Dakota Wesleyan. However, they started the second with a victory against Keiser, who the Tigers fell to Friday. The Rams started off the first frame with two back-to-back kills, but the Tigers swiftly struck back with two back-to-back kills. After being tied up at 7's, Campbellsville came in strong with kills from Morgan Furness, Layton Adams, and Cierra Merrick, widening their lead. The Tigers closed off the first frame winning, 25-22.
The start of the second set came with a kill from the Rams, quickly matched by a kill from Zofia Serafinowska. Throughout the remainder of the set, both teams kept the score within two points of one another. Both teams rallied to the end, landing kills back and forth. Despite Campbellsville's higher hitting percentage of .360 compared to Mobile's .307, the Rams took the win over the Tigers, 25-20.
The third set was underway with attack errors from each of the teams. Soon after, the Rams followed with two back-to-back kills. The Tigers trailed Mobile down a couple of points, only to swiftly strike back with kills from Rich and Merrick. Only a few points away from one another, both teams exchanged the lead back and forth for the remainder of the third frame. The Rams closed the third set with a win, 25-20.
At the beginning of the fourth set, a kill from Mobile initiated the action, followed by five consecutive points for the Tigers. Even though the Rams quickly struck another point, the Tigers did not falter and followed with another five back-to-back points. However, Campbellsville did not Mobile get ahead in any of the remaining time of the fourth frame. The Tigers took the win from the Rams, 25-14.
Each team held two sets; the fifth frame would be the decider. The Tigers and the Rams continuously rallied each other, staying only one to two points away from each other on the scoreboard. Neither team faltered, bringing the scoreboard of the final set over 15. The Tigers lost the fifth frame against the Rams, 16-14.
Campbellsville finished their second match of the day with a hitting percentage of .245 and nine aces, matched to Mobile's .245 hitting percentage and nine aces. The only notable differing statistic was the Tigers' seven blocks and the Rams' four. Merrick led the team with 21 kills, and Rich with 15 digs and 36 assists.
Next weekend, Campbellsville will look to net their first win as they begin their weekend stay at Indiana University Kokomo against Mount Vernon Nazarene and Indiana University East. Those games will be Friday, August 25th at 3 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. ET respectively.
